Jack Anderson

Polarizado: “Pagan Love Call”

When you operate all the way up until the witching hour, there’s no such thing as bad weather for sunglasses. So if you’re a degenerate lowlight reptile like us, we’ve got the perfect tint for you on the verge of severe thunderstorms this weekend.

We’re talking about Polarizado, the solo songwriting project of Austin producer/multi-instrumentalist Felix Bergman that dates back to 2018. Already a veteran of too many styles to list here, Bergman refers to his style as “Cult Americana”, obscuring all kinds of genre influences behind a thick film of Southern idiosyncrasies. And following a sole studio offering from last year, Bergman’s been busy lately, promising the release of “many singles” over the course of 2024.

Today, ahead of a single release show at Far Out Lounge on March 26th alongside Cobra Cats and The Discount Pills that promise came in like a clarion with “Pagan Love Call”. Like a sonic accompaniment to this Central Texas humidity, there’s no sacrificing the twang in this thang. So embrace the steam and put the remainder of your work week in a death roll, because “Pagan Love Call” is must-play for all kinds of weekend heathens.

Broken Gold: “Bad Days” (feat. Alejandro Escovedo)

Punk is a young person’s game, no doubt. Because while the counterculture spirit, tattoos, and tinnitus stay ’til death, even punk rock pioneers eventually mellow out towards “refined tastes” once they get comfortable on the other side of the hill.

Case in point: Ian MacDougall of The Riverboat Gamblers fame, who first broadened his genre horizons with Broken Gold alongside fellow Gambler Patrick Lillard over a decade and a half back. The offshoot’s initial indie punk prospects shined on their 2011 debut LP Recovery Journal, and have only departed further from the signature RG sound since, most notably on last March’s Live at Paint by Numbers. Well after waiting long enough, Broken Gold’s finally giving us another full-length entry into their studio discography.

Wild Eyes (out May 3rd) strikes gold with mixing from Modest Mouse/White Stripes engineer Stuart Sikes and mastering from twenty-one-time Grammy winner Howie Weinberg, not to mention one hell of a guest appearance. We’re talking about “Bad Days“, a look back to when Riverboat Gamblers were operating full tilt on tour, almost like a generations-later continuation of Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated”. It dropped last Friday and features vocals from KUTX favorite Alejandro Escovedo, who could certainly lean on his formative days with The Nuns for similar inspiration. So as Broken Gold shifts the fuzz pedal into overdrive for SXSW, catch ’em 10:15PM tomorrow night at Valhalla for the Chicken Ranch Records Party and 5:45PM on Sunday at Empire Control Room for Smartpunk House. They’ll both be good nights for sure.

Elle Shimada: “RESOLUTE”

All-day unofficial hangs, boozy activations, and making new friends with your line neighbors are great and all…but for us the biggest joy of SXSW is that fast influx of international acts. Artists who might not ever consider the U.S. Southwest for their previous tours instead flood our city with tons of show options, which always makes staying in Austin this week well worth it.

So we gotta give a big shoutout to Elle Shimada, who, on top of juggling vocals, dance routines, turntables, and several instruments, also has her hands full with in-town appearances over the next few days. The Tokyo-born, Melbourne-based multi-hyphenate has been coming up quick in the Australian underground scene thanks to her infectious flirtations with drum n bass, nu jazz, R&B, electronic, and beyond, not to mention a bold Takashi Miike-esque aesthetic to her releases’ artwork and unwavering allegiance to the dancefloor. And since SXSW is so often a catalyst towards superstardom, this week may turn out to be one of those pivotal leg ups in terms of international exposure.

Elle Shimada plays 4:20PM tomorrow at Empire Control Room, Friday afternoon at Lucille (Australia House), 7:50PM Friday evening at Lefty’s Brick Bar, and wraps it up 8:30PM Saturday night at Shiner’s Saloon…plenty of opportunities to tap into Shimada’s unique pulse in-person. So while a proper introduction to Elle is the quick trip through her discography, Shimada does shimmer supremely on her latest single that dropped at the top of the month. Between sweeping synths, soaring guitar, and a rhythm section that cranks the chillwave vibe up a big notch, “RESOLUTE” is the perfect score for a super-stylized sci-fi crime romance epic, like if one of those massive Blade Runner holograms was swapped out with Shimada’s striking visage and shintai-ascending voice.

Kev Bev: “History Books”

It doesn’t matter whether or not lyrics are written before or after the instrumentation; there’s always room to build contrast between subject matter and sonic character. Like for each individual genuinely troubled by the texts of “Pumped Up Kicks” or “Semi-Charmed Life”, there’s a multitude more who just love what they’re hearing without second guessing the words or inspiration. Which proves you can appeal to the masses based on a great groove alone – without having to sacrifice any lyrical integrity.

That just about tees us up for the new one from Kev Bev. For more than a decade now, multi-instrumentalist/singer-songwriter Kevin Collins has helmed this eponymous Austin thirteen-piece, formerly known as Kev Bev and The Woodland Creatures. This hefty ensemble is about as festive as it gets, thanks to the bevy’s proclivity towards dance, loyalty to the jam (sans genre constraints), and especially their collective grasp of historical musicology.

But Kev Bev’s knowledge of history isn’t limited to sound alone. In fact, they’ve just reflected on the heavy lessons from a poignant chapter in our nation’s past: that of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. And this where the power of positivity comes into play. “History Books“ (the lead single and title track off KB’s next LP) confronts some tough stuff for sure, but balances the abysmal with killer brass, incredible rhythms, slick transitions, and easily accessible choreography, even if you’re in the library. The movement-inducing music video arrived just in time for International Women’s Day, not to mention a pop-up performance 5:45PM this Saturday at Austin City Hall for the Falasteen Street Museum and a record release show 8PM next Friday at ABGB alongside Bali Yaaah. So credit to Kev Bev, ’cause edutainment is rarely this infectious.

KONZI: “Red Velvet Room”

Swapping out lead singers can be risky for established listener-ships, but shaking up your sound can also reap some serious rewards and keep fans on their toes in the best way possible. So while not every band can boast a membership as eclectically talented as that of Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, or The Beatles, a little vocal variety does go a long way. And that’s where Austin quintet KONZI finds themselves today.

KONZI’s been kickin’ it since the start of the pandemic – always with the co-lead vocalists in mind – but only implemented that dream on streaming this morning. Rest assured, the ’90s alternative/turn-of-the-millennium indie style that we heard on KONZI’s eponymous debut last year is well preserved. But there’s no denying the newfound fire from singer Carly Jo Jackson on this new one off KONZI’s upcoming sophomore album.

For a truly proper introduction, face the full-band effect with the music video for “Red Velvet Room”. To say “Red Velvet Room” absolutely rips is a criminal understatement, thanks in no small part to Jackson’s firecracker performance. So if you need a quick rock caffeine pick-me-up, step into “Red Velvet Room” with the volume up to eleven.

SXSW Plans / The Hard Early ’00s

Find out what Confucius, Fresh, and KUTX have coming up for SXSW and decide whether or not Nelly’s first three albums came up in the “hardest’ era. And in between Hip-Hop Facts and Confucius Reads the News, feathers get ruffled with Fresh’s Unpopular Opinion around the recent wave of women in rap.

Wild Heaven: “What You’re Looking For”

We haven’t even hit SXSW yet, but we’re already hearing hype for some freshly-minted, must-know Austin acts. And with another new arrival this morning, our ear drums feel especially touched by an angel.

We’re talking about a four-piece whose fast ascent to their current status requires a bit of quick history. It started off a couple years back as Saturnia Pavonia, the solo outlet for Austin guitarist-singer-songwriter Laura Delarosa. Despite three lifelong multi-instrumentalists (Laura’s lead guitarist husband Josh, drummer Eleanor Lindsey, and bassist Aja Pollock) entering the mix last summer and hurling a pumped up post-punk sound into the stratosphere with their first full band foray “Control”, Delarosa and her disciples have held onto the Saturnia Pavonia handle ever since…until today.

Say hello to Wild Heaven: new name, still untamed. This beastly blessing is plain paradise for that lawless, aggressive ’90s-evocative alt-rock – a real godsend in this hyper-polished era of pristine digital production. How do we know? Well, Wild Heaven just opened up the pearly gates on this iteration’s debut single, “What You’re Looking For”, which is exactly that if you’ve been huntin’ for some recent Riot Grrrl material. Power chords straight out the gate, lyrics dishing out ex hate, and feminine adrenaline all on one plate, “What You’re Looking For” is a dish best served loudly. Catch ’em in person 10PM this Saturday at Vaquero Taquero downtown or 1PM this Sunday at Buzz Mill!

Ana Zae: “Lifted”

Over the past two months alone we’ve seen some pretty promising new names emerge from the Austin area, even if the artists behind the project have been in plain sight for some time.

Take for example longtime live scene veteran Ana Zae, whose prior solo iteration Liza Day (Rose) first popped up in August 2020 with six soulful self-recorded originals. Heavy on the multi-tracked vocal harmonies but angled towards acoustic authenticity, those tunes told us everything we needed to know about this mature music-maker; she had the stuff.

Fast forward to this February, when the singer-guitarist rolled out her rebrand as Ana Zae with two stellar singles. Thanks to Black Pumas collaborator Will Grantham engineering and producing the pair, Ana’s sound has undeniably leveled up from the humble, stripped-down home studio aesthetic of her antecedent. Between a previously unheard one (“Set Me Free”) and “Lifted” (lifted from her Liza Day debut Roses and Waves), this two-part reintroduction channels the waltzy rhythms and sultry chord changes of classic Patsy Cline through the lens of golden era grunge electric guitar, both of them teetering with triplets, love-hungry lyrics, and a set of pipes that put more than plenty to shame. And with a full album reportedly on the way from Ana Zae, our fandom stands to stay unfazed.

Scott H. Biram: “No Man’s Land”

Once you hit your third or fourth full-length, you’re established. By album seven or eight you’re a heavyweight. But when your discography reaches its teens, the list of contemporaries to compare to starts running thin…and that’s the position Scott H. Biram is about to enter.

With a catalogue reaching back to the turn of the millennium, this Austin singer-guitarist has officially been in the game for a quarter century, and two decades removed from a pivotal brush with death. Biram’s is the type of music that could really only stem from Texas, with a gratuitous amount of southern grit ingrained in his exploration of blues, punk rock, and beyond. And his streaming numbers are certainly nothing to scoff at.

Recently, rockin’ the Fu Manchu mustache, gold tooth, and all, Scott’s gotten caught up in recapturing the lo-fi charm of his earlier installations, a wager he’ll make good on with his thirteenth full-length The One & Only Scott H. Biram, out March 29th. Based on the record’s first three singles (including this morning’s “No Man’s Land“) we definitely feel greeted back to that grizzled territory like a musty junkyard mutt crawling back inside a rusty jalopy frame. The shitkickers will love it, but that doesn’t neglect the uncouth sophistication of these new, idiosyncratic compositions. Rock on, Scott. Rock on.

Act II: Album of the Year? / Rappers in Politics

Will Beyoncé’s upcoming Act II score the Queen her first “Album of the Year” Grammy? What role should rappers play in political discussions? And does Houston need to share more of its legacy with the rest of Texas’ hip-hop hubs? Find out what Confucius and Fresh have to say in this latest episode.

Sweet Limb: “Meditate” (feat. Norman BA$E)

No matter how talented an individual vocalist is, the addition of live instrumentation can really elevate a performance to the upper tier. Like can you imagine if Rage Against the Machine was just De La Rocha spitting over pre-recorded tracks with a DJ instead of their legendary full-band energy? Us neither.

So we’re not really going out on a limb when we say that Austin four-piece Sweet Limb has a pretty swell thing going for them. The project started off over a decade back as a solo outlet for singer/rapper Chris Robinson but really took off post-COVID when Sweet Limb branched out to include bass, drums, and keys. Thanks to Robinson’s seasoned Frank Ocean-esque verbal skills, killer grooves that fuse multiple styles, plus the intentionality of their arrangements and proven understanding of dynamics in live settings that’s gotta pull plenty of new listeners, Sweet Limb’s been getting some admirable streaming traction just from releases over the past couple months alone.

Well, just in time for a few unofficial SXSW appearances over the next week (this Sunday afternoon at LuxeArt Agency, next Monday at Coconut Club, and next Thursday at Full Circle Bar) Sweet Limb released their first full-length Thank You For Not Snitching last Friday. Clocking in at a hair under half an hour, Thank You For Not Snitching packs ten tracks of black talent you’ll wanna tell everyone about, made in collaboration with local scenesters like KUTX favorites Ben Buck, Breadcouch, and Norman BA$E, who lends his production chops to the LOW KEY EP holdover “Meditate”. Like an alternate Persona 5 composition recut to capture a jazzy, placid Austin aesthetic, “Meditate” is a great way to clear the mind going into another work week on the verge of South By.

Scott Ballew: “Mutiny”

Austin may be a metropolis, but it’s still smack dab in the middle of Texas, football fanaticism, Western legends, vast landscapes, and all. There are a lot of artists who embody that Lone Star aesthetic, but today we’re tippin’ our hat to Scott Ballew.

After his initial acts as football star and filmmaker, this central Texas troubadour is now living middle age to the fullest as a songwriter. Scott’s quick to point to his documentary work with Terry Allen as a pivotal moment in his career, and sure, you can see similarities in just comparing album covers , like the cresting scenery of their respective debuts Juarez vs. Talking to Mountains or the minimalist interiors of Lubbock (On Everything) vs. Middle Age Crazy. But that said, there’s something especially cinematic-minded about his cosmic Americana compositions that he couldn’t have simply copped from Allen’s outlaw country repertoire.

And that Western aesthetic really comes to a head on Scott Ballew’s third LP, Rio Bravo, out March 29th. Down to its already iconic title (Cat Ballou would’ve been too on the nose, right?) Rio Bravo is shaping up to be a ten-scene saga of survival, less in the realm of gunfighter ballads and more so contemporary confessions, like if Ennio Morricone brought his timeless Spaghetti Western magic to a newly-unearthed Townes Van Zandt album. Ballew started saddling up for Rio Bravo last month with “Suicide Squeeze” and galloped further today with “Mutiny”. Safe to say we’ll spend this next month patiently awaiting the rest of the stragglers, whose full posse of songs could’ve only been made in Texas, plain and simple.

Anna Tivel: “Disposable Camera”

It’s a total no-brainer. 2020 and quarantine conditions left countless with a bizarre bevy of time to reflect and be inspired, no matter how dire the world felt. And with a lot of those early-COVID-era compositions, the final products reached masses within the first year or two. But some of those existential episodes must’ve made others question what the rush even is, since some of those songs still won’t land in fan’s laps until they’re just right.

It makes sense that Portland’s Anna Tivel falls in the latter category, since she’d already established herself as a modern folk force between a handful of studio albums and a few million streams by the time lockdown came around. And yet COVID didn’t seem to slow down her output. That summer, Tivel tailed 2019’s The Question with a full LP all-acoustic re-imagining, Blue World in 2021, Outsiders in 2022, and Outsiders‘ own acoustic revisit last August. In contrast to Tivel’s pensive, unhurried musical character, it’s honestly crazy to think about how quickly Tivel was cranking ’em out without sacrificing quality.

But apparently, not even all that could fully capture what Anna Tivel penned in the pandemic. Just this past Tuesday Tivel announced her sixth full-length Living Thing, set for release the final day of May. Marking a decade milestone since her debut Before Machines and nearly a half decade since the initial lockdown days, Tivel really upped the ante on Living Thing by collaborating with Bon Iver/Field Report producer Shane Leonard to meticulously maximize each track over an intensive two-month session. The record’s lead single, “Disposable Camera”? Far from a throwaway. Its minimalist music video definitely deserves a few more eyes, and the accessibility of the lyrics make “Disposable Camera” feel like flipping through all-too-familiar snapshots of the recent past. In other words…it’ll click with you.

The Peterson Brothers: “Family”

We here at KUTX have kept a pulse on the local scene long and close enough to realize that we’re essentially tracking the progression of individual talents in real time. And though we’re admittedly quick to stick up for twenty-somethings who’ve bottled lightning for their debut releases, frankly there are very few youngsters that genuinely make us think “oh, they’re only gonna get better and better from here on out” each time we see them play live.

Think about The Peterson Brothers, who initially entertained us almost a full decade back when they made their first Studio 1A appearance as mere teens. Just as they did back then, Glenn, Jr. and Alex both continue to slay it on vocals, but their deft instrumentation on guitar and bass, respectively, always steals the show. Which totally tracks, considering up until 2020’s The Intro, The Peterson Brothers were primarily a live staple. So just when we began to fear that their mature emulsifications of blues, funk, soul, and jazz might’ve hit a limit, The Peterson Brothers have bested themselves yet again with their full-length Experience, out April 12th.

And since The Peterson Brothers have already shared a stage with The Roots, who better to help translate their live energy to the studio than Grammy-nominated Roots/Lauryn Hill/Mark Ronson producer Ray Angry? Mixed for ATMOS and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, the resulting Experience is exactly what it claims to be, an eight-track sonic excursion best enjoyed in surround sound. So while mid-January’s “Too Soon” teased that hyper-polished production value with echoes of The Brothers Johnson, yesterday’s “Family” sounds more like The Whispers rejuvenated their signature synth sound with organic sonics and some playful brass. It’s an embrace of everyone who’s supported them along the way, blood relations be damned, and holy moly does it make us feel like Experience will be TPB’s alma mater…at least until the next one.

Autumn Cymone: “Slippery” (feat. James Barmore)

Over the past 40 years R&B’s only gotten more electronic, more reliant on post-production “studio magic”. And for the more recent half of that period, R&B’s also become so intertwined with hip-hop that the two genres are now almost inseparable. Thankfully, just like the recent retro-soul renaissance, there are still purveyors of real “rhythm & blues” who ascend past contemporary commercial trends and instead blend the best of classic and modern.

And that includes Austin acts like Autumn Cymone, who draws just as much from Prince and Erykah Badu as she does Betty Davis and Astrud Gilberto. But seemingly impervious to a bad hair day and ever equipped with her trusty six-string, a quick listen to this “Queen of the vibe”‘s catalogue tells you that she’s much more than just another Janelle Monáe wannabe. And in the half decade since the straightforward rock arrangement paired with R&B drums of Cymone’s debut single “Silence”, we’ve heard a really impressive progression into the nuanced songwriting and authentic acoustics she’s blessed us with this side of the pandemic.

This Thursday Autumn Cymone shares her EP …all my surprises, followed by a show 10PM Friday night at Busy Signal and what may very well be her final unofficial SXSW performance 5PM next Saturday at New Bloom. So as Autumn Cymone slides towards superstardom, try not to get hot and bothered by the new album’s latest lip-biter, “Slippery”. Between a voracious back-and-forth lyrical structure with James Barmore that catalyzes sexual chemistry and the infectious complexities of its overall arrangement, “Slippery” feels like a modernized Motown duet overflowing with hormones and rock overtones.

Tigers Eye: “Goodbye Again”

It’s a new week and nearly a new month so might as well break into some new music, right? Today we have the privilege of premiering the first-ever studio single from a fresh outfit – Tigers Eye. Like their namesake quartz, this quartet has a more exotic appeal than many of Austin’s other musical marbles, thanks to their mining of indie, surf, and psych.

Tigers Eye’s spent the past year earning their stripes with a series of live performance videos, including several covers that tip us off to some of the band’s inspirations like Arc De Soleil, Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Allah-Las, and Khruangbin. And speaking of live performances, Tigers Eye plays their maiden single release show 8PM next Tuesday at Mohawk alongside Trace of Lime and Buzzard Company. So while we don’t have a concrete timeframe for when the group drops their debut full-length, we did just get our paws on the record’s first offering, “Goodbye Again”.

Clocking in at just under four minutes, “Goodbye Again” makes us ready to great spring and summer with a grin, thanks to an upbeat arrangement, driving rhythms, and super catchy melodies – all of which demand we keep a close eye on these cool cats moving forward.

Officially the Best Radio Show

After so many consecutive nominations, Confucius and Fresh reflect on their first ever ‘Best Radio Show’ Austin Music Award before discussing why longtime Austinites are jaded to good opportunities. And in between Hip-Hop Facts and Confucius Reads the News, Fresh dishes a particularly Unpopular Opinion on why the music industry actually doesn’t need to change.

Silver Skylarks: “Power Moves” (feat. Adrian Quesada & US!)

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: we’ve been loving the recent ride of this retro soul-funk renaissance, especially with so much dynamite coming right out of the central state area. And today a new name emerges within that ongoing saga of nostalgia: Silver Skylarks.

Fly like the birds, and slick like the cars, Silver Skylarks is the DFW duo comprised of songwriter Danny Balis and producer Jeff “Skin” Wade, born from early pandemic demos. Taking cues from the ’70s vinyl rarities that crate diggers crave, Balis and Wade have been steadily elevating those ten demos into Silver Skylarks’ debut LP The Number One Set and Sound – out May 3rd.

But the pair didn’t go it alone. Instead they called up some of the best session players they’ve met, plus a few superstars to really spice things up. On top of the mix that includes Large Professor, Robert Ellis, and The D.O.C., Silver Skylarks also tapped into some outstanding Austin talent; Uncle Roy & Spice, the Austin vocalists better known as US!, lends their pipes to the record’s Side A closer “Power Moves”, while Adrian Quesada commandeers the six-string. The result is a progressive groove that’d quickly catch Roy Ayers’ ear, complete with horn swells, Coffy-esque vocals, and an intoxicating breakbeat-indulging bridge, that all just scream to be played over some sassy vigilante’s intro credits.

Wrongbird: “Sons of the Desert”

Once you get locked into a flock, life without group benefits sounds like a nightmare. And if you want to break away to steer your own migrations, you might just sacrifice a chunk of your following in the process. Not only that, there’s always the risk of ending up far from where you wanted.

Yet it sure seems like singer-songwriter Eric Baker (formerly of Tomar & the FCs and currently behind keys for Shinyribs) has found the right fit with Wrongbird, which he founded as a solo project more than half a decade back. Since Baker’s early 2018 debut Epitome of the Opposite, Wrongbird’s wings have spread into a core duo with producer-guitarist Michael Blake and eventually the quartet we know today. Wrongbird’s made all the right choices when it comes to what they weave into the nest: strings, horns, backup singers, and anything worth foraging from the ’60s-’70s golden age of art pop. But following their late 2018 EP Who Is Wrongbird?, the band went awfully quiet…up until their big return in 2023 with April’s “Mr. April” and November’s “Western Hero”, the latter of which has already become their most streamed single on Spotify.

Clearly Wrongbird’s not interested in letting their still-limited discography dry up, and as such, they’re leading us to an oasis of a new record at some point in 2024. And while there’s no official release date for that sophomore album as of yet, Wrongbird does have a single release show 6:30PM next Wednesday at Vinyl Beauty Bar with Allisen & Wy plus Lady Chops & the Goddamn Jam. And that latest lead single from LP feels like finally reaching a distant mirage, that instead of evaporating upon arrival, gleefully transforms into a full-blown Bourbon Street affair. Because by barreling together Three Stooges dialogue samples, speakeasy-approved horns, tipsy stride piano, trippy guitar, tumbling drums, and swaggering vocals, “Sons of the Desert” effortlessly encapsulates a prohibition-era sense of mischievousness. Just don’t get yourselves into too much trouble with this one, boys…

Paige Hill: “Go West”

Last May we took a gander at a real Good Woman, Austin-born-and-raised and now Dallas-based singer-songwriter Paige Hill, who shared her debut EP of the same name last year. Pious yet uninhibited, motherly without hovering, and faithful to her state but enticed by adventure, Hill embodies those personal complications often overlooked in the Americana-country-folk-rock realm.

She’s the type of artist who soaks up inspiration wherever she goes and from whoever she meets, so it’s no huge surprise that she’s settled on People & Places as the title for her upcoming first full-length. Chronicling ten tender years over the course of nearly as many tunes, People & Places is set to showcase a seasoned sense of wisdom that can only come from a modern Texas woman.

So as we move towards People & Places – out later this Spring – we join Paige Hill on the journey she took from her native Austin out to the California coast way back when. Aptly “Go West”, this lead single makes us want to get up and move, plain and simple. While its instrumental arrangement is pretty tight, Paige’s soulful, reverberating vocals round out the song’s sense of space like a cross-country snow globe. And with an expert sense of dynamics that tracks Hill’s heeding of westward advice, “Go West” will encourage you to take the leap and make the changes you’ve been meaning to do from its first full-band downbeat through its final, optimistic chord.